Halo: Vanguard
by xXxomegastreakxXx
Summary: As the war with the Storm Covenant heats up, the Human-Seperatist Alliance collaberate to form a team of the most experienced and deadliest warriors. Their mission; to drop in the most dangerous assignments no other squad can handle. But a force within the chain of command seeks to shatter all the Alliance has accomplished, and a dark new foe emerges from deep space.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey guys, Omega here for another Halo story. Before we begin, I just want to let you know what's gonna happen with some elements in the story; first, I'm basing Cortana's appearance off the Halo 3 version, not the Halo 4. Second, I'll be accepting 4 OCs for the next chapter, and I'll leave the criteria down at the bottom, and you can PM or review your submissions. Enjoy!**

* * *

John-117 a.k.a. Master Chief stared out the window of Cairo Station at Earth, watching as white clouds hovered over the blue and green surface. Ever since the events on Requiem and the Didact's defeat, his mind plagued him with memories of Cortana, her image burned into his thoughts every waking moment. He couldn't believe she was gone, wouldn't believe; he expected her voice to reassure him that she wasn't gone and then tease him for worrying, but there was only silence.

Heavy footsteps approached from behind, but the Chief didn't turn until a large armored hand tapped him on the shoulder. It belonged to his fellow Spartan-II Maximus-118, 8 feet tall when in his prototype blue/silver MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor that had a similar appearance to the Air Assault variant, though his helmet was fused with a Forerunner artifact that he obtained from a mission that cost the life of another Spartan. He wore the two Magnum pistols that belonged to that Spartan, along with a 6-foot-long odachi sword, which was basically a katana on steroids, a smaller shoto knife, and his favorite Spartan Laser with the motto of his home state etched into the side, "Live Free Or Die."

"Hey, John," Max said, but John detected a hint of interest in his best friend's tone, "Fleet Admiral Hood wants us to report on the bridge, and by the way he said it, it's somethin' in the high priority range."

He said nothing, just nodded as he followed the larger Spartan to a nearby lift. The two marines guarding the door to the bridge snapped their hands up in a salute before admitting them in. Terrance Hood stood at the observation deck and, to Chief's surprise, talking with the Arbiter and another Elite he didn't recognize. That one, clad in dark violet armor, just listened to the conversation patiently, but his reptilian eyes held the hardened gaze of a soldier, and by the two energy swords on his belt, he was someone to be reckoned with.

Hood heard the two super soldiers enter and paused mid-sentence to turn to them. Both threw their hands up in salute, and the Fleet Admiral returned it with an, "At ease, gentleman. Chief, you're one lucky son of a bitch to be still standing after all the hell the universe's decided to give you over the recent events."

"Thank you, sir," John replied politely, and the Arbiter chose to speak, "It is good to see you again, Master Chief, and a pleasure as well to meet the one who annihilated the last of the Brute's ragged military on their homeworld."

The last part was directed to Max, who rubbed the back of his helmet sheepishly, "Stop it, you're making me blush."

"Alright, gentlemen, now that we've said our hello's it's time we get down to business," Hood interjected, "Master Chief, you and Max have logged some extensive battle time with the Storm Covenant, and although they don't have the strength of the old Covenant, they're still a serious threat."

He gestured to the two Elites, "The Sanghelli Council and the United Nations, in response to this, have voted for a squad of the most talented soldiers in our militaries to be created. This team will handle the worst and most significant assignments in order to bring the Storm down for good. Chief, I'm promoting you to squad commander, and you'll have Max as your XO."

The Spartans looked at each other, and Max chuckled before giving John a mock salute, "I'll watch your ass real close, _commander_." He loaded the title with sarcastic humor, only to earn a cocked eyebrow from the Admiral, "I wasn't finished, 118. As a way of showing our Sanghelli allies we value them, we let them name your new team, and we're also putting one of their finest on the roster."

He gestured to the second Elite, who gave a small bow of his head, "My name is Vel 'Mdama. I am honored to fight alongside you, Spartans, to vanquish the scum who wish to shatter our alliance."

"'Mdama, huh? Any relation to the Storm Covenant commander who nabbed Halsey?" Max questioned, and Vel bowed his head further in the Sanghelli equivalent of shame, "The traitor was my maternal uncle, but blood ties will not hinder my abilities; I while kill him myself, if need be."

"Welcome to the team," John nodded at their new teammate, "But we can't really go on-mission without knowing our designation, Admiral."

The Arbiter's mandibles spread into what looked like a smile, "The Council and I agreed on the most suitable title for you: The Vanguards, a fitting name for the defenders of our collective peoples. Lord Hood also asked me to tell you that you will find the rest of your squad in briefing room A3, and to wait there for further instruction."

"Best get going, Vanguards. Dismissed," Hood then returned the salute he received from the Chief, Max, and Vel before they turned and went back to the lift.

* * *

"Wonder who else got picked for this gig," Max mused half to himself, and John gave a tiny shrug, "If this squad's as important as Hood says, we'll only be getting the best."

When they reached the third level, they passed rows of doors with various labels until they got to the one that was marked "BR-A3", and from the chatter of voices drifting from it confirmed that the rest of the squad was already assembled. Chief pushed the entry button and he and his two companions walked through the sliding doors.

* * *

**So, as you can guess by the sudden cliffhanger I don't really have the rest of the Vanguards, which is why I'm accepting OCs. However, I'm only takin' 4 of any Halo species, all Spartan types, as well as ODSTs and Marines. So, here's the template for them;**

**Name:**

**Gender:**

**Species: (If Spartan, please put which generation)**

**Rank: (Optional)**

**Description: (Appearance)**

**Personality:**

**Primary Weapon:**

**Secondary Weapon/Unique Weapon**

**History: (Short background info plz)**

**I can't wait to see what you guys send me, so until the next chapter, later dudes!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Before the story begins, I'd like to acknowledge those who sent in their OCs that made it into this story; LeonLink, lolperson2, PersonKiller15, and Dynasty56. Thanks for your fantastic characters, and I apologize to those who sent in OCs but weren't chosen. Thank you for taking the time to send me your ideas, and I value everyone who decides to read my stories ;).**

* * *

Lieutenant Marshall "Odysseus" Grant was hard at work cleaning his BR85HB SR Battle Rifle, waiting along with the rest of the Vanguards for their CO to arrive. The Spartan IV had his Reach-Variant Recon helmet off and laying next to him, revealing lightly tanned skin and metallic grey eyes under a mess of short black hair. His armor consisted of two parts, the chest plate, arms, and gauntlets being the MJOLNIR Enforcer type, while his leggings and boots were Venator. The color scheme was blood red as the primary color, with black as the secondary.

An ODST in full black/silver Battle Dress Uniform was taking a nap on the conference room seats a couple feet away from Grant, using his rucksack as a pillow. Grant couldn't see any name tags on him, just a cross-swords symbol on his right shoulder with his rank displayed underneath, showing he was a Lance Corporal.

Probably the most interesting member of the squad was the Sanghelli female Ventum 'Vadaam in the corner who kept switching her crimson energy sword on and off. Grant found the feminine side of the Elite coin peculiar, because although she retained the basic features of her species, like the mandibles, long neck, feline eyes, four-fingered hands with double thumbs, blunt nose, and double-jointed legs. However, she kept her mandibles together in an imitation of a Human mouth, that combined with her brilliantly red hair going down a little past her shoulders and decidedly curvaceous form underneath the grey-black Zealot armor gave her an eerily Human appearance.

Interestingly, Ventum had defected to the UNSC 10 years before the Great Schism for unknown reasons, and had been able to achieve the rank of Sergeant, the triple bars posted underneath her wolf emblem evidence of that. Instead of using Covenant weapons, Ventum was armed with a DMR and an SMG.

The door to the conference room slid open, and Grant and the others immediately came to attention, though the ODST needed a sharp kick for him to follow suit. Surprise and excitement filled the room when the legendary form of Master Chief John-117 entered, followed by the even larger Max-118 and the second Elite member of the squad.

"At ease," The Chief said, and as soon as everyone was back in their seats a feminine voice laced with a British accent piped up, "Excuse me, sir, but I got a question."

All eyes turned on one of the other Spartan-IVs in the squad, Alice Worthington, who was balancing a knife on one finger. Her Venator helmet was off as well, so everyone could see her short brown hair and eyes, but kept her grey/red armor with an ironic Vanguard chest plate and scout leggings. A M45D Tactical Shotgun was attached to the magnetic clip on the back. Another veteran of the Requiem Campaign, her skill in fighting Elites and Prometheans hand-to-hand had impressed even the Chief, making her the resident assassin.

Alice sheathed the knife and scanned the room with her eyes, "I've been studying everyone here, and I've noticed that we have two Elites, three Spartan-IVs, a couple of Spartan-IIs, a Spartan-III, and a lazy ODST. If the UNSC and the Separatists wanted to create the ultimate squad, why not use some of the surviving Spartan-IIs, if you factor in strength, speed, and pretty much every other combat statistic."

The ODST, who his former squad referred to as the Rookie, didn't look like he was fond of Alice's assessment of him.

Max let out a low chuckle, "You're not the first to think that Twos would be ideal, and I bet a lot of war scholars would agree with ya. But because Spartan-IIs are put in the front lines and take the worst of the shit storm, we have a tendancy to die when our luck runs out, and Hood wants to keep as many of us alive as possible if things get really bad. For the Vanguards, I bet they wanted experience instead of super-soldiers."

"Still makes me uneasy," Alice grumbled, and the last Spartan-IV of the group Joel Winnfield, Captain Second Grade, replied, "Take it easy, Lieutenant; consider yourself lucky that you got picked for such an important post."

Winnfield, like John and Max, preferred to wear his black/green Commando armor most of the time, and not much was known about him, other that was a former ODST and served with distinction alongside the Chief during the attack on New Mombasa, signing up for the Spartan-IV program afterwards. His personnel file said he was as skilled a tactician as he was with a DMR, and he was pretty damn good with one, too. He was strangely friendly for a battle-hardened soldier, but that didn't hinder his performance.

The last member of the squad was Spartan-B312, made famous by his actions on Reach but still thought KIA by most UNSC personnel and the general public. He was rescued from Zealots by a squad of ODSTs who'd also recovered Kat-B320, who miraculously survived a round through the head, and escaped in a Longsword. He wore a Mark V[B]helmet with UA Attachment, Commando left shoulder plate, FJ/PARA right shoulder plate, Tactical/LRP chest piece, UA/Buckler wrist armor, FJ/PARA knee guards, a gold visor, and silver as primary color and steel as secondary color.

John turned to him and extended his hand, "Good to meet you, Noble Six."

Six flinched as the desgination reminded him of his former team, but recovered and shook the outstretched hand, "The same, Master Chief."

After introductions were made, the room settled into a long and pregnant silence, until Grant broke it with a question, "Uh... what do we do now?"

The speaker on the wall crackled to life, and a gruff voice barked, ~_Vanguards, report to Hanger Bay 1 for mission assignment and briefing!_~

"You heard 'im, ladies, move it!" Max boomed for John, and those who didn't have their helmets on put them back on and grabbed their weapons, ready to receive their first mission as Vanguards.


End file.
